Electric clock winding mechanism.



.is a specification.

UNITED STATES PATEN T OFFICE.

GEORGE II. RUPLEY, OF SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO FRANK J. SEABOLT, OF SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK.

ELECTRIC CLOCK WINDING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 29,

g Patented Aug. 25, 1908.

1906. Serial No. 340,989.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. RUPLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Schenectady, county of Schenectady, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Clock Winding Mechanisms, of which the following This invention relates to means for automatically winding clock mechanism or the like, and has for its object the provision of means of this character whereby an electric current will be periodically utilized to effect the winding of the clock mechanism after a predetermined amount of energy has been expended. I

One of the objects of my invention is the provision of an improved electric clock winding mechanism which may be connected with ordinary lighting or ower circuits and which will Wind and rewin at definite intervals and will require no attention whatever.

A further object of my invention is to provide improved means whereby the clock mechanism will continue to operate for a definite period in case the electric power should not be available when the time comes forthe mechanism to be wound, arrangements being made whereby when the power does come on, the winding mechanism will immediately start and restore the energy expended.

A still further object of my invention is to provide improved means for preventing the complete running down of the clock mechanism at any time, since whenever this occurs, the clock mechanism gets out of adjustment and the services of an expert are required to adjust it.

In my previous patent, No. 832,747, I have described and broadly claimed means for accomplishing the results above referred to. The mechanism shown in said patent for accomplishing these results has been found to operate very satisfactorily in practice, but for certain purposes I have found a more simplified structure desirable.

In clocks of the drum type, the main spring arbor always rotates in the same direction, i. 0., it does not reverse to wind the s ring, but the energy is restored by rotating t 1e drum, the shaft remaining stationary.

In carrying out my invention, I rovide a rotary contacting drum having bot 1 insulating and conducting surfaces separated by a spiral flange. This drum is rotated by either t 1e clock mechanism or the winding mechanism, as desired. Engaging with this drum is a resiliently mounted contactor driven independently of the drum, as for instance, by the winding mechanism, in case the drum is driven by the clock mechanism. The contactor is engaged by the flange as the members rotate relatively to each other, and the spring of the contactor is laced under tension. When the end of t e spiral flange is reached, the contactor'being under spring tension, snaps from one surface to the other thereby changing the motor connections. The contactor and drum rotate in the same direction so that when the drum rotates a certain distance as the clock runs down and closes the motor circuit, the contactor will be rotated in the same direction by the motor for the same distance, thereby bringing the two members back to the same relative positions which they had when starting. In case there is no current on the line when the motor circuit is closed, I so arrange the parts, that rotation will continue with the motor circuit closed for a definite period, at the end of which if the current does not come on the line, the clock mechanism w ll be absolutely stopped.

In the accompanying drawings in which I have shown one embodiment of my invention,,Figure 1 is a side elevation of an electrically wound clock embodying my improvements; Fig. 2 shows the arrangement of the gearing; Fig. 3 is a detail of the contacting U parts shown in connection with the main spring; Fig. 4 is a detail of the spring contactor and gear by which it is driven and Fig. 5 is a developed view of the drum contact.

Referring to the drawings in which like numerals refer to like parts, 10 indicates an electric motor which may be of any desired type and arranged to be operated on any desired kind of circuit or in any manner preferred. This motor is provided with terminals 11 and armature shaft 12 driving a pinion 13. This pinion transmits power to the main arbor of the clock 14 having a gear 15 secured thereto by means of the gears 16, 17, 18, etc. The main spring of the clock 19 has one end secured to arbor 14 and the other end to the spring drum 20, and a pinion 21 is mounted on a sleeve driven by the drum 20, so as to rotate freely on the arbor 14. Pinion 21 operates the clock mechanism in the usual way through a gear 22 secured to shaft 23. This shaft 23 is mounted on the clock frame 24, and at its outer extremity has secured thereto a cylindrical or drum contact 25. Secured to the arbor 14 so as to rotate therewith is a pinion 26 insulated from the arbor and meshing with gear 27 loosely mounted on shaft 23. Secured to gear 27 is a spring contactor 28 adapted to engage the drum contact and a metallic hub 27 is adapted for delivering current to the con factor. The drum 25, gear 27 and hub 27 are insulated from the shaft 23 by the insulating sleeve 25) and gear 27 is insulated from drum 25 by insulation 28.

The particular arrangement of the insulating and conducting material of the drum 25 is shown in Fig. 5. The insulating material 30 forms a portion of the surface of the drum, and is flush with the metallic surface so that the contactor can easily slide from one sur face to the other. The line of separation between the conducting and insulating portion of the drum surface is arranged at an angle to the plane of rotation of the drum, and a flange 31 preferably of insulating material is arranged along the line of separation, so as to form a separating wall between the two surfaces. The length of this flange and in fact the length of the insulating strip will depend upon the particular winding periods, i. 6., by lengthening the flange 31, the length of time which the clock will run before wind ing will be increased. The flange 31 does not extend the full length of the insulating material so that the contactor may slip over the ends 32 and 33 of the flange, from one sur face to the other. A second spiral flange 34, which may be of any desired material, is secured to the surface of the drum beginning a short distance from the end 32 of the flange 31 and continuing around the drum, the end of the spiral 35 being arranged at right angles to the remainder thereof, so as to constitute a stop for the contactor. The particular form of contactor here shown constitutes no part of my invention and may be varied as desired. As shown in the drawings, the contactor consists of a spiral spring 36, one end,of which is secured to the gear 27 by the arm 37, and at the free end of the spring is provided a contact finger 38 engaging the surface of the drum as well as the flange 31. One terminal of the motor is connected with the conducting surface'of the drum by the slip ring 39 yieldingly held in place by insulating collar 40 and spring 41, and the other terminal is connected with the spring contactor 28 by means of a spring contact arm 42 sliding on hub 27.

The operation is as follows: The motor having just operated so as to fully wind the clock, the contacting finger 38 will be in the position A having just snapped past the edge 33 from position B. The clock now starts to run down, and in doing so, rotates the drum 25 in the direction of the arrow e, the contactor remaining stationary. As the drum rotates, the contactor will slide along the flange 31 from )osition A to position the motor circuit )cing all the time open since the contactor is on the insulation 30. When the contacting finger reaches the position 0 it has been placed under tension since its normal position is at A, and it has been sprung over by the flange to the position 0. l/Vhen it reaches the ends of the flange 32, it snaps over to the position D which is on the conducting material, and is its normal position since it is in line with position A. The motor circuit will now be closed, rotating the shaft 14 through gear 15 and driving gear 27 carrying the contactor 18. The gearing between the motor and the gear 27 is so ar ranged that the contactor rotates in the same direction as the contact drum therefore when the motor circuit is closed, the contact finger will travel from D back to B, engaging the flange 31 about midway thereof, the drum this time remaining practically stationary with reference to the contactor. When the finger reaches the end 33 of the flange, it will again snap over to the position A, and the clock Will again be wound up for a period. In case the power should beofl the line, when it becomes time to wind, 71. 0., when the contacting finger reaches position D, the clock will continue to run since nothing prevents it. The finger will travel from position D following dotted line 1) until it engages the spiral flange 34. It will then follow this flange for a certain period which may be as long as desired. If the ower does not come on, the clock will then lie stopped by the finger reaching the position E against the stop 35. Whenever the power now comes on, the motor will start and drive the contact drum until the finger again reaches B, in which position, the clock would be completely wound. The current to the motor will pass from one of the terminals 11 through the armature thence to the other terminal and the contact ring 39 to the con ducting surface of the drum thence to the contactor 18 and spring contact 42 back to the line.

It will be seen that I have produced an extremely sim lo and reliable construction for winding a c ock mechanism or the like and supplying a reserve wind, in case of failure of current and also for absolutely stopping the clock before it entirely runs down. There are no parts to get out of adjustment and the contacts at which the circuits are made and broken are sliding contacts which keep the surfaces bright. The only moving parts aside from the gearing are the drum contact and the contactor, which may be produced at a very low cost and constitute an exceedingly efficient and reliable structure. While I have shown and described a specific mechanism for bringing about the. desired results, it should be understood that other arrangen'ients of elements may be utilized without departing from the spirit of my invention, the sco e of which is set forth in the claims :IllllOXN hereto.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is,-

1. The combination with clock mechanism, of a winding mechanism therefor including an electric motor and means for periodically controlling the motor circuit, said means comprising movable members perma nently in contact, one of which is driven by the clock mechanism with the motor circuit open and the other bythe winding mechanism with the motor circuit closed.

2. The combination with clock mechan ism, of a winding mechanism therefor includ ing an electric motor and means for periodically controlling the motor circuit, said means comprising rotary members permanently in contact, one of which isdriven by the clock mechanism with the motor circuit open and the other by the winding mechanism with the motor circuit closed.

3. The combination with clock mechanism, of a winding mechanism therefor including an electric motor and means for periodically controlling the motor circuit, said means comprising members rotating in the same direction permanently in contact, one

of which is driven by the clock mechanism with the motor circuit open and the other by the winding mechanism with the motor circuit closed.

4. The combination with clock mechanism, of a winding mechanism therefor including an electric motor and means for periodically controlling the motor circuit, said means comprising contacting members rotating in the same direction, one of which is driven by the clock mechanism and the other geared to and running slower than the motor, and means in connection with said members for automatically making and breaking the motor circuit. 7

5. The combination with clock mechanism, of a winding mechanism therefor including an electric motor and means for periodically controlling the motor circuit, said means comprising permanently contacting members rotated independently of each other one of which is geared to-and rotates slower than the motor, and means in connection with said members for automatically, making and breaking the motor circuit.

6. The combination with clock mechanism, of a winding mechanism therefor including an electric motor, and means for periodically controlling the motor circuit, said means comprising a contacting drum and a contactor engaging the same rotated independently of each other in the same direction, one of said contacting members being geared to and running slower than the motor, and means in connection with said members for automati "ally making and breaking the motor circuit.

7. The combination with clock mechanism, of a winding mechanism therefor including an electric motor, and nicans'for periodic ally controlling the motor circuit, sald means comprising a rotary contact having a conducting and an insulating surface, a rotary contactor engaging the same, and means whereby said contactor is automatically shifted from one surface to the other to make and break the motor circuit.

8. The combination with clock mechanism, of a winding mechanism therefor including an electric motor, and means for periodically controlling the motor circuit, sald means comprising a rotary contact having a conducting and an insulating surface separated by a flange, a rotary spring pressed contactor engaging said surfaces and. arranged to be put under tension by said flange whereby said contactor will be automatically shifted from one surface to the other when it reaches the ends of the flange.

9. The combination with clock mechanism of a winding mechanism therefor includ ing an electric motor, and means for perimlically controlling the motor circuit, said means comprising a rotary contacthaving a conducting and an insulating surface separated by a flange, a rotary spring pressed contactor engaging .said surfaces and arranged to be put under tension by said flange, said contacting members being independently rotated, one by the clock mechanism and the other by the winding mechanism.

10. The combination with clock mechanism, of a winding mechanism therefor including an electric motor, and means for periodically controlling the motor circuit, said means comprising permanently contacting rotary members having both conducting and nonconducting engaging relations, means in connection with said members for automatically shifting. from one relation to the other as the members rotate, one of said members being rotated while the members are in conducting relation and the other being rotated while the members are in non-conducting relation.

11 The combination with clock mechanism, of a winding mechanism therefor including an electric motor and means for periodically controlling the motor circuit, said means comprising permanently contacting rotary members having both conducting and non-conducting engaging relations, means in connection with said members for automatically shifting from one relation to the other as the members rotate, one of said members being rotated in one direction by the clock mechanism while the members are in non-conducting relation and the other being rotated in the same direction by the winding mechanism while the members are in conducting relation.

12. The combination with clock mechanism of a winding mechanism therefor including an electric motor, and means for periodically controlling the motor circuit, said means comprisii'ig a rotary contact having a conducting and an insulating surface, a retary contaetor engaging the same, means whereby said contactor is automatically shifted from one surface to the other to make and break the motor circuit, one of said mem bers being rotated in one direction by the clock mechanism when the motor circuit is open, and the other being rotated in the same direction by the winding mechanism when the motor circuit is closed, and means whereby the member driven by the clock mechanism will continue to rotate after the contactor is shifted to close the motor circuit in case of failure of current.

13. The combination with a movable member having a conducting and an insulating surface separated by a flange arranged at an angle to the direction of movement of said member, of a resilient contacting member ongaging said strip and said surfaces, and means for moving said members.

14. The combination with a movable member having a conducting and. an insulating surface separated by a flange arranged at an angle to the direction of movement of said member, of a resilient contacting member engaging said strip and said surfaces, and means for alternately moving said members.

15. The combination with a movable member having a conducting and an insulating surface separated by a flange arranged at an angle to the direction of movement of said member, of a resilient contacting member engaging said strip and said surfaces, and means for alternately moving said members in the same direction.

16. The combination with a movable member having a conducting and an insulating surface separated by a flange arranged at an angle to the direction of movement of said member, a resilient contacting member engaging said strip and said surfaces and arranged to be put under tension thereby, and

means for moving said members until the contacting member reaches an end of the strip.

17. The combination with clock mechanism, of a winding mechanism therefor including an electric motor and means for periodically controlling the motor circuit, said means comprising rotary contacting members having conducting surfaces of contact, one of said members being driven by the clock mechanism and the other by the winding mechanism, means for automatically shifting said members out of conducting relation during said movement, and means whereby the member driven by the clock mechanism will continue to rotate with the members in conducting relation in case of failure of the motor to operate.

18. The C()ll'll)lTl2Ll}l()H with clock mechan ism, of a windingmechanism therefor including an electric motor and means for periodically controlling the motor circuit, said means comprising a rotary drum driven by one of said mechanisms having both conducting and insulating surfaces of contact, a contact driven by the other of said mechanisms and arranged to be automatically shifted from one surface to the other, and means whereby the member driven by the clock mechanisn'i will continue to rotate. with contact made on the conducting surface in case of failure of the motor to operate.

19. The combinatirm. with clock mechanism, of a winding mechanism therefor including an electric motor and means for periodically controlling the motor circuit, said means comprising rotary contacting members having both conducting and insulating surfaces of contact, one of said members being driven by the clock mechanism with the motor circuit opened and. the other by the winding mechanism with the motor circuit closed, and means whereby the member driven by the clock mechanism will continue to rotate with the motor circuit closed in case of failure of the motor to operate.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 27th day of October, 1906.

' GEORGE H. RUPLEY.

Witnesses:

ALEX. F. MACDONALD, HELEN ORFORD. 

